{"id":8434,"date":"2022-04-27T08:50:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T08:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/website.prod.unilu.spikeseed.cloud\/en\/news\/climate-warming-alters-glacier-fed-stream-ecosystems-worldwide\/"},"modified":"2022-04-27T08:50:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T08:50:42","slug":"climate-warming-alters-glacier-fed-stream-ecosystems-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/en\/news\/climate-warming-alters-glacier-fed-stream-ecosystems-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate warming alters glacier-fed stream ecosystems worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to two recent studies carried out as part of the Vanishing Glaciers Project, the ecosystems of glacier-fed streams are undergoing profound change around the world. That could have major repercussions on the food chain and the natural carbon cycle.<\/p>

The ecosystems of glacier-fed streams have survived nutrient-poor and harsh environmental conditions over the course of thousands of years, yet they are now being transformed by climate change at unprecedented pace. This is the conclusion of two studies published by scientists at EPFL\u2019s River Ecosystems Laboratory<\/a> (RIVER), which is part of EPFL\u2019s School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC). The studies were carried out in close collaboration with the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine<\/a> (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The first study highlights the diversity and adaptive strategies of the microbiome in glacier-fed streams, while the second reveals that the decomposition of organic matter in glacier-fed streams is accelerating and the microbiome structure is changing as glaciers shrink. As organic matter is decomposed at a higher rate, glacier-fed streams may become more important to the natural carbon cycle.<\/p>\n

\nFrom green oasis to forests<\/h3>\n

Climate change is making the spring and fall seasons in glacier-fed streams last longer. According to the Nature Communications<\/i>, this shift has major repercussions on the ecosystem\u2019s microbiome, which until now has been akin to a \u201cgreen oasis\u201d during short periods in spring and fall. In the future, the microbiome could turn into something more like a \u201cforest.\u201d \u201cThese seasons are important ecological \u2018windows of opportunity\u2019 in glacier-fed streams with less harsh environmental conditions. This allows primary producers to proliferate, and they form the energy basis of the microbial food chain,\u201d says Prof. Tom Battin, the head of RIVER and the corresponding author for both publications.<\/p>

In addition to this discovery, the study sheds new light on what has previously been a black box: the microbiome inside these ecosystems. The scientists now have a better understanding of how the different microorganisms compete or help each other survive in such a nutrient-poor environment with alternating periods of freezing, melting and strong UV radiation.<\/p>

\u201cOur metagenomic analyses showed how various strategies for acquisition of energy and exploitation of available resources, as well as genomic adaptations to harsh environmental conditions allow complex biofilms to persist in these streams,\u201d details Dr Susheel Bhanu Busi<\/a>, first co-author of the study and member of the Systems Ecology group<\/a> at the LCSB. The group contributed its expertise in microbiome research to the Vanishing Glaciers Project, helping to analyse the samples collected in both hemispheres.<\/p>\n

\nSlimy megacities<\/h3>\n

The scientists also unravelled potential metabolic interactions between algae and bacteria, demonstrating that biofilms can recycle feed streams internally. This appears to be an important adaptation to survive in an ecosystem that is poor in energy. \u201cScientists in our field tend to call biofilms \u2018slimy megacities,\u2019 since they are home to millions of microbial residents encapsulated in slime and attached to rocks,\u201d says Battin. \u201cWe were able to observe how the different species work together to survive.\u201d Other crucial discoveries made by the teams were an unexpectedly rich virome and genomic features that could explain how bacteria are able to shield themselves against glacial temperatures.<\/p>

\n \n\"\"\n <\/figure>\n

\nAccelerating the carbon cycle<\/h3>\n

In the Global Change Biology<\/i>, the scientists found that organic matter across 101 glacier-fed streams worldwide is decomposed more rapidly as glaciers shrink. Concomitantly, they were able to relate this ecosystem process to distinct components of the microbiome. \u201cWe can expect the food chain in glacier-fed streams to become greener in the future as primary production becomes more important,\u201d says Battin. \u201cWith this change, some microbial species may disappear, others will thrive, and there will be a shift along the entire food chain.\u201d The bottom line of this study is that, as glaciers shrink, their streams may become more important natural sources of CO2 in the atmosphere.<\/p>

\u201cThe microbiome forms the basis of the food web, controlling key ecosystem processes,\u201d adds Prof. Paul Wilmes<\/a>, head of the System Ecology group at the LCSB and co-corresponding author. \u201cUnderstanding how climate change affects these microbial communities will help to predict how glacier-fed streams \u2013 ecosystems that are amongst the most vulnerable \u2013 will change with global warming and the continued shrinkage of glaciers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nLast stop: Alaska<\/h3>\n

This research was made possible by the Vanishing Glaciers Project<\/a> \u2013 a four-year project based at EPFL and funded by The NOMIS Foundation. Under this project, scientists at RIVER began sampling glacier-fed streams around the world in 2018 with the aim of deciphering the biodiversity in these vanishing ecosystems. \u201cOur unique effort, which combines intense expeditions with genomic analyses, made us the first to systematically study the microbiome of these ecosystems, which are now changing as the glaciers melt,\u201d says Battin.<\/p>

The Vanishing Glaciers expedition will soon draw to an end, making its last stop this summer in Alaska. The scientists have analysed only 20% of the data they have collected so far from over 150 glacier-fed streams worldwide. Future analyses will investigate precisely how the microbiome is being altered \u2013 and what the broader ramifications are.<\/p>

References:<\/strong><\/p>